The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of taxol, baccatin III and 10-desacetyl-baccatin III derivatives or other taxanes having new C9 functional groups.
Taxol is a natural product extracted from the bark of yew trees. It has been shown to have excellent antitumor activity in in vivo animal models, and recent studies have elucidated its unique mode of action, which involves abnormal polymerization of tubulin and disruption of mitosis. It is currently undergoing clinical trials against ovarian, breast and other types of cancer in the United States and France and preliminary results have confirmed it as a most promising chemotherapeutic agent. The structure of taxol and the numbering system conventionally used is shown below; this numbering system is also applicable to compounds used in the process of the present invention. 
In Colin U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,470, it was reported that a taxol derivative, commonly referred to as taxotere, has an activity significantly greater than taxol. Taxotere has the following structure: 
The tetracyclic core of taxol and taxotere bear a C9 keto substituent which, if modified, would lead to the preparation of a series of taxol analogs having improved water solubility. To date, however, the selective manipulation of the C9 keto group has presented a formidable problem.